“I slipped over a few times and fell on the ground, but we were just pushing through.
“Then I realised I had actually done something really bad to my leg, and it was hurting really badly - I couldn’t walk at all.”
A torn knee ligament meant she couldn’t continue and darkness set in.
They both tried to phone for help, but cellphone reception was poor.
“We tried getting SOS, we tried calling, but there was no signal for us at all,” she said.
“My boyfriend had to climb onto a fallen down tree on a branch higher up so we could get a signal.”
After more than an hour, they got through and called for an ambulance. Hato Hone St John was notified at 6.25pm.
A Land Search and Rescue team was also deployed.
But the pair had a long wait as they were at least a two-hour walk into the rugged bush.
“We were waiting basically from 6pm until 11pm in the forest, all alone, no contact with anyone. Our phones were dead,” she said.
“We were just sitting down and reassuring each other that it would be OK.”
After rescue teams arrived, it was decided a rescue helicopter was needed and the pair moved to a pickup location.
The injured teen was flown to Christchurch Hospital and has since returned home.
In a statement made to Facebook, police thanked the rescue team.
“We appreciate the swift and professional response of everyone involved.”
Jazlyn Whales is a multimedia journalist based in the Christchurch newsroom.
